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The Iron of Earth's Inner Core Could Be in a Strange 'Superionic' State, Study Finds
Science Alert ^ | 14 FEBRUARY 2022 | JACINTA BOWLER

Posted on 02/15/2022 9:52:50 PM PST by BenLurkin

We know from seismic wave data that the inner core is soft, with a low shear-wave velocity, meaning it can't just be solid iron or iron alloy. Some scientists think there could be a second inner inner core, while others think that due to the lighter density than would be expected by pure iron alone, there could be some light elements as an alloy.

But a new study, led by Yu He from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has now investigated the potential phase of matter this mix of elements may exist in down, arriving at the suggestion that the 'solid' state of the core might really be a superionic state instead.

Superionic is another state of matter – alongside solid, liquid, and gas – but with distinct differences. In superionic water – which was recently made in a lab – extremely high temperatures and pressures break apart each water molecule, leaving the oxygen ions to form a solid, while the hydrogen ions float around more like a liquid.

In the hot inner core of Earth, the team used computer simulations of how seismic waves would travel through different combinations of elements, and discovered that alloys of iron with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen could work the same way as superionic water.

The iron atoms were 'solid' in the crystalline lattice structure, whereas the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules would diffuse through the medium, creating the liquid-like element.

(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: core; dutchsinse; superionic
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1 posted on 02/15/2022 9:52:50 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

Yu She is not convinced

Yu They is neither


2 posted on 02/15/2022 9:55:13 PM PST by algore
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To: algore

“Yu She is not convinced
Yu They is neither”

Yu She has ALWAYS been that way - doesn’t care if her husband is about to win a Nobel - He still needs to be put in his place. As to Yu They, they’re still young and don’t really know what’s going on, but they will in a few years, when they’ll be very proud of Yu He.


3 posted on 02/15/2022 10:00:59 PM PST by BobL (Money is the most important thing in my life.)
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To: algore

When Yu gives a presentation Hu gets the check?


4 posted on 02/15/2022 10:07:12 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: BenLurkin

Imagine if the earth just caved in that would be a wild 30 seconds


5 posted on 02/15/2022 10:07:29 PM PST by toddausauras (How far will the left go in terms of destroying our personal freedoms?)
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To: BobL

Is He serious? Can Yu believe this? What can We conclude from this?


6 posted on 02/15/2022 10:11:52 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: toddausauras

Lol/ Yep, a wild way to end it all.


7 posted on 02/15/2022 10:49:56 PM PST by laplata (")
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To: BenLurkin

Judging by the surface, I think the core is in a super moronic state.


8 posted on 02/15/2022 10:59:05 PM PST by DannyTN
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To: BenLurkin

The center of the earth obviously contains a propulsion system. Otherwise the earth would fall from the sky. Dum


9 posted on 02/15/2022 11:03:59 PM PST by Revel
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To: BenLurkin

Yu He, who he? Related to Xi Here?


10 posted on 02/15/2022 11:35:23 PM PST by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (Figures )
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper

Yu? He on first. (Chinese version of the skit).


11 posted on 02/15/2022 11:42:40 PM PST by 21twelve (Ever Vigilant. Never Fearful.)
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To: 21twelve

I guess Won Ton is on second and Wu Han Luke is on third!


12 posted on 02/16/2022 12:00:46 AM PST by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (Figures )
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To: BenLurkin

Lumps in the iron could be that God did not mix the ingredients enough.
It could be a source of Unobtanium....


13 posted on 02/16/2022 12:35:11 AM PST by minnesota_bound (I need more hash brown patties! )
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The description reminds me of my Bolognese sauce.

(But to the point, FReepers kno the world has no core ‘cos it’s flat)


14 posted on 02/16/2022 12:51:35 AM PST by Mr Radical (In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.)
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To: BenLurkin

“...the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules would diffuse through the medium, creating the liquid-like element.”

...which — owing to extreme pressure, could be forced upward through strata where these organic elements could reform, under reduced pressures much nearer the surface, into hydrocarbon chains...

FURTHER support for the proposition that crude oil is geological in origin; it’s “planet juice.”


15 posted on 02/16/2022 1:28:51 AM PST by HKMk23 (https://youtu.be/LTseTg48568)
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To: toddausauras

Just enough time for some end-of-the-word sex.


16 posted on 02/16/2022 1:44:48 AM PST by equaviator (There's nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth.)
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To: BenLurkin
...which was recently made in a lab...

Uuummmmm...

17 posted on 02/16/2022 2:02:02 AM PST by sit-rep ( )
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To: BenLurkin

The iron atoms were ‘solid’ in the crystalline lattice structure,...

Face centered, body centered, or some other kind?


18 posted on 02/16/2022 2:11:59 AM PST by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Larry Lucido

Third base.


19 posted on 02/16/2022 2:17:22 AM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper

Nothing to Xi Here. Move it along...


20 posted on 02/16/2022 2:18:17 AM PST by one guy in new jersey
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